


Room at the Inn

by Ermingarde



Category: Rosemary and Thyme
Genre: 5+1, F/F, Friends to Lovers, oh no - there's only one bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28168722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ermingarde/pseuds/Ermingarde
Summary: Five times Rosemary and Laura share a bed out of necessity (+ one time they do it by choice).
Relationships: Rosemary Boxer/Laura Thyme
Comments: 16
Kudos: 38
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Room at the Inn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Melime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/gifts).



1.

"So you're telling me," the detective says slowly, "that her son put antifreeze in her juice, her daughter-in-law put arsenic in her pills, but what killed the old lady in the end was _dehydration?_ " 

Laura nods. 

"Yes, when the home aide didn't arrive, she wasn't able to reach either the pills or the juice herself." 

The detective writes something in his notebook, then closes the cover. 

"You're free to go, Ms. Boxer, Ms. Thyme - but we ask that you remain in the village for the next couple of days, as we will likely have further questions for you." 

"Now wait just a minute," Rosemary says. "We were already planning to leave today, we checked out of the B&B and everything." 

The officer is unmoved.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Boxer," he says, "but this is a murder investigation. I'm afraid I must insist. 

_

"Well, we don't have any two-bed rooms available for tonight," says the clerk at the B&B. "Everything's full up, what with the zucchini bread festival starting tomorrow. But we do have...let me see...a room with one queen bed." 

Laura looks at Rosemary. 

"We'll take it," she says. 

_

"Rosem'ry," Laura mumbles, "your feet are _freezing_."

"It's because you're hogging the covers," Rosemary says, yanking them back. 

_

"Will you stop kicking me?" 

"I was only trying to get you to stop snoring."

_ 

2.

Laura's convinced the Land Rover deliberately chose this spot to break down. They're tens of kilometers from anything resembling a town, no one has passed by on the road for hours, and no matter how much Rosemary bangs on the engine, it stubbornly refuses to start. 

"Well," says Rosemary, "it could be worse; the weather is mild and I keep a sleeping bag in the back for just this eventuality." 

" _A_ sleeping bag?" Laura asks. 

Rosemary's face falls. 

"Yes. Well." she says, "It'll be a bit of a tight squeeze, but I expect we'll both fit." 

_

It is indeed a tight squeeze. After a lot of wriggling and kicking, Rosemary falls asleep with her head pillowed on Laura's chest, but Laura stays awake for a long time, preoccupied with something she can't quite identify, staring up at the stars. 

_ 

3\. 

The clerk described this as a room with bunk beds. Staring at the bottom of Laura's bunk, which is about four centimetres from the tip of Rosemary's nose, Rosemary reflects that this is true only in a very technical sense. 

"Oh, stop being ridiculous and get up here," Laura says abruptly. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Of course I am, you're practically sleeping in a casket down there, and I have plenty of room." 

Rosemary scrambles gratefully up the ladder. In the dimness, she sees the large lump under the blankets that is Laura scooch obligingly over against the wall. 

Despite Laura's words, the bed is actually quite narrow, and Rosemary has to press close to Laura's back to keep from falling off. 

_We fit together nicely,_ she reflects. 

_Now where did that thought come from?_ But that's a question that can wait until morning. For now, she's warm and cozy next to Laura, and perfectly content. 

_

4\. 

"You can't deny it's appropriate," Laura says. 

"What's appropriate?" 

"No room at the inn on Christmas Eve." 

"Oh, really, Laura," Rosemary huffs. "Anyway, we're hardly staying in a stable." 

"No," Laura admits, "but you can't deny a converted garage is fairly close." 

The clerk at the B&B had apologetically explained that every place in town was booked up for the holiday, but had helpfully mentioned that his boyfriend's uncle had a bed in his garage he would certainly be willing to let them stay in, for a very reasonable fee. Left with a choice between that and sleeping in the Land Rover, Rosemary and Laura reluctantly agreed. 

"Here," their host says gruffly.

"Thank you," says Laura. The space is surprisingly cozy, with a little bed covered by a patchwork quilt. 

The man grunts in lieu of an answer, then leaves. 

"A man of few words," Rosemary observes. 

Laura shrugs. 

"More likely to be honest, then," she says.

"Don't tell me - Nick was a chatterbox?" 

Laura shakes her head. 

"You know, Rosemary," she says, "I really haven't thought about Nick in a long time." 

_ 

5\. 

"I'll have no hanky-panky in my house," Rosemary's mother says sternly. Laura blushes in spite of herself. 

"Don't worry, Mum," Rosemary says. 

"Certainly not, Mrs. Boxer," adds Laura. 

_

Getting ready for bed that evening, Laura is so distracted she puts soap on her toothbrush instead of toothpaste. Those words - _Rosemary_ and _hanky-panky_ \- are swirling around absurdly in her head. 

_Hanky-panky. Rosemary. Hanky-panky_ with _Rosemary._

"Is everything all right?" Rosemary looks over the cover of her book at Laura. "You don't seem quite yourself." 

Laura jumps. 

"Yes, yes, everything's fine," she says. 

Rosemary looks unsatisfied, but returns to her reading. Laura swallows, summoning up her courage. 

"Rosemary," she says, "do you ever think about, well, us?" 

Rosemary looks up again. 

"Us?" she says quizzically. 

"You know," continues Laura, "us. Together." Part of her wishes she could sink through the floor, but she's determined to see this through. 

Rosemary doesn't speak for a long moment. 

"Yes," she says at last. "Yes, I have." 

Laura hardly knows what she's doing as she walks over to where Rosemary is sitting on the bed. 

"And?" she says. 

Rosemary shrugs. 

"I - well, I wasn't sure you felt the same way," she admits. 

With any other friend, Laura would worry about messing things up, losing a friendship - but this is Rosemary. She knows they'll be together no matter what, through thick and thin. 

She leans over and brushes a lock of Rosemary's hair behind her ear. 

"I think I love you," she says. 

When their lips meet, there are no fireworks. Instead, it feels comfortable, like matching puzzle pieces fitting into place. 

"I think I love you, too." 

_

\+ 1. 

"And will that be one bed or two?" 

Rosemary doesn't even have to look at Laura before answering. 

"One."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, Melime, for giving me the chance to write fic for the best TV show in the world! I had a blast - I hope you liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> The crimes mentioned at the beginning are adapted from a fact pattern on my Criminal Law exam earlier this month.


End file.
